The Ballad of 0014
by DigistarDBZ
Summary: From a storagehouse filled with frozen, numberless cyborgs, only one was stolen. Yet when her true identity is revealed, it will change everyone's lives- especially Cyborg 004, Albert Heinrich's- forever.
1. Prolouge: Nightmares

_**We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.**  
Lyndon B. Johnson, December 13, 1963_

  
  
**_The Ballad of 0014_**  
_by DigistatDBZ_

_Prolouge: Nightmares_

* * *

"Worthless!"  
  
The three accompanying men cringed as they heard her snarl in frustration. They had been through row after row of capsules, and none of them seemed to suit her needs. Every last one of them seemed to be doomed to failure.  
  
"Why should I have any use for such worthless rejects?" She added, clenching her fist. She looked around at the countless rows of suspension capsules, and none of the things inside seemed to be of use to her. "Why did they even bother to store them if they never worked in the first place?"  
  
"Madam, if I might--"  
  
"When I ask for your opinion, I shall ask for it directly to you!" She snapped at the now-cowering robed man, who was so frightened that he wished that he could crawl inside his turban. "Yes... I realize many of these subjects are over 40 years old. What I'm looking for is the reject that Black Ghost actually had interest in."  
  
"But madam," Another robed man spoke up, keeping his distance incase the woman decided to take out her frustration on him. "How.. how will we know which one is the reject? All of these look the same!"  
  
The woman rolled her eyes at his statement, and pulled a piece of heavily-wrinkled paper out of a sachel. The tell-tale uniform of a 00-number soldier wasn unmistakeable, with its bright red and yellow colors and, to put it mildly, 'unique' design. There was always a method to Black Ghost's madness- though to those who knew about the organization often found it hard to differentiate reasonable method from the frightening madness.  
  
"Whether or not she was wearing this uniform upon being put in suspended animation 4 years ago, she is here. And I want the 00-number to be found."  
  
Yes, all of the capsules in the giant storage house were supposed to be 00-number cyborgs: Black Ghost's ultimate weapon of war. Humans robotically modified to withstand otherwise intolerable conditions, and perform feats that would be otherwise impossible to mortal humans. Hundreds of candidates were hand-picked from all over the world, spanning from the project's birth in the mid-1960's, to the very dawn of the 21st century, when the project was restarted upon the long-awaited arrival of the technology needed to properly convert a human to half-machine and have him -or her- survive the process.  
  
Yet many of these people didn't wish this fate upon themselves: only nine became the final prototypes out of the hundreds of subjects chosen for testing. Like the nine, many of them had this done to them against their free will- kidnapped and doomed to be missing and presumed dead for years, decades; maybe even centuries.  
  
No one knows if these sleeping quasi-humans still dream, or think. Perhaps they dream of when they'll be able to see their families and friends again. Or perhaps their transformation to cyborg was so horrific that they would dream of the peace that death would finally bring.  
  
But one- and only one- was to be brought out that night. The uniform that was being worn by the cyborg in the picture was reserved for successful prototypes only- ones that were destined to be part of the 00-number prototypes that would make up the army of super-humans Black Ghost envisioned. There was something about that cyborg that the woman wanted.  
  
She only had to gaze up after one last pass over a previously-looked over row of suspension capsules when a flash of red caught her eye. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around to come face-to-face with the red that she had seen, and looked back and forth between the picture and the figure inside the capsule to make sure that her suspicion was correct.  
  
"Madam, did you find it?" The two robed men dashed from the opposite side of the room to see what had gotten the lady's attention.  
  
"It's here," the woman said in bearly-contained glee. "The 00-number is here."

Snapping her fingers, she summoned a hulking behemoth of a man from behind the two men, who jumped out of the way in fright. He lumbered foreward, setting himself upon one knee before her.

"Get this pod out. And I insist you do not damage it for fear of severe consequences."

He nodded before getting up, and with strength that couldn't possibly be of his own, he grabbed the pod with the uniformed cyborg inside, and tore it away from the wall, managing to miss the three others by only inches. The two men cowered and ducked for cover, yet the woman remained still, unflinching as if she had known that her hulking behemoth wouldn't be so stupid that he would do something to harm his mistress.

"We leave immediately for Tibet," she said, turning to leave. "Then, we begin."

The two men nodded and went after her, with the large man carrying the pod behind her. Everything was going flawlessly now- what was there to stop them?

But little did any of them know that the security cameras watching them, recording their every word and movement, was not being watched by anyone from Black Ghost.

* * *

A thunderstorm rocked a small, village-esque suburb of Berlin- a city once divided in the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. Those differences seemed long since forgotten and tensions so loose in this town, you wouldn't have believed that the world was on the brink of self-destruction even up until 20 years ago.  
  
Still, those sort of past descrections aren't easily forgotten as most would like. Take for example the many whos lives were destroyed during that chaotic period, who tried to act upon their dreams of leaving the "utopia" of Soviet communism and failed bitterly. Some did survive and escape out of that world. But for them, sometimes a heavy, even unbearable price came with it.

And sometimes, dreams are a rather unplesant way of reminding them what that cost was.

He wasn't sure what was broken in the explosion, or how he could possibly be alive afterwards. All he knew was that they were finally out.  
  
_ Free._  
  
Debris from the truck rained down and was scattered around him like so much fire from hell, and even the worst of it wasn't clawing through the flaming, burning debris to reach her...  
  
"Hilda....!!!"  
  
His legs felt like they were gone, even if they were somehow still connected to his broken, bloodied body.  
  
"Hilda..!!!!! Hilda!!!!"  
  
Yet, his worst horrors were still realized... the only thing he wished would still be in one piece and praying for his survival was laying in a crumpled, lifeless heap amidst the burning rubble.  
  
"HILDA!!!"  
  
He reached out for her, taking her form into his arms. He prayed, no, demanded that God wouldn't take her away from him.

"Hilda, hold on, please!!" He begged, trying to ruse the body that was limply hanging from his arms.  
  
Finally, it was as if his prayer was answered as she barely managed to open her eyes and look at him.

"Did... we make it?" she whispered weakly, as if she was putting every ounce of her strength into just answering him.  
  
"Yes..!" He replied, thankful that maybe.. just maybe his worst fear wasn't realized after all. "We're out of that place for good! We're in a free country now, where we can do whatever we want!!"  
  
She smiled through the tears that began to trickle out of her eyes. "I'm so glad... we're finally free... forever..."

She nearly gasped on the last word as her hand fell limp to his side, the glint of the gold engagement ring shone though the fire that continued to burn behind them. Albert felt the blood rush out of his head and into the very pit of his stomach.

"..Hilda...!!" He choked, trying to make her wake up again. "You can't die!! We were supposed to be together!!"  
  
He shook, holding her close as something began to sneak up from below the very ground they were laying on. Yet, even as these appendages rose from the ground, enveloping them, he continued to talk as if they weren't even there.. as he remembered it.

"We never should've done this..." he whispered bitterly as the two bodies were lifted up, snaking steel trying to tear the two apart. But he was still alive, she was dead- there was nothing he could do to change it, and that's what hurt him the most.

"Don't die, you can't leave me!!!" He tried to plead one last time, trying to hold onto the body of the woman he loved- his pleas still falling upon dead ears.

He only had a moment- and just enough strength- to call out for her, to shout for her name as the machine guns took aim at him, to silence him as well.

"**_HILDA!!!!!!!!!!!_**"  
  
Albert Henrich sprung stiff as a board up on his bed as another thunderclap exploded with intense sound in the background, lighting the dark room for only a moment with its lightning. Cold sweat broke out and streamed from everywhere on his body that he could possibly name- natural and artificial.  
  
His breathing was loud and heavy as he tried desperately to grasp the reality that he had been placed right back into. There was no burning truck, no broken limbs, no cables, no guns...  
  
..No Hilda...  
  
He held his face in his hands, the fact that only one of his hands was still human-looking and the other was glaringly artifical- all five fingers each a powerful semi-automatic machine gun's muzzle- still not helping to ease the pain that throbbed in his head... or his heart.  
  
"_Why...._" he whispered, still breathing hard. "....Why am I having that dream over and over again....?"  
  
Everything in the nightmare was just as he remembered it, line for line, moment for moment. Yet the cables, the gunfire.. all of that was different. He didn't know how, or why, but this time, the memory was different.

Just like the nightmares he had been having for.. two, three weeks? He stopped keeping track after the night he tried to stay awake all night to avoid the nightmares. It didn't fare well for work the following morning, but on the other hand, the nightmares had been depriving him of sleep to the point where no one would be able to tell the difference between him staying up all night or having nightmares that kept him awake in the first place.

But why Hilda? Why that memory when he felt like he was just starting to get over it?

'Maybe to keep me from forgetting her..' he thought, rubbing his temples. 'Why am I not supposed to forget her? Why can't I move on?!'  
  
He twitched in surprise when he heard his phone ringing. He stopped breathing hard long enough to murmur to himself, "...Who could be calling this late at night?"  
  
He exhaled as he collected himself enough to reach for the phone at the side of his bed. "Yes, who is this?"  
  
"_004?_"  
  
Albert's conciousness suddenly shot to attention when he recognized the voice uttering his old 00-code number. "Dr. Gilmore...? What's going on here?"  
  
"_I'm sorry... but something's come up, we need everyone..._"  
  
He felt his stomach cramp at the thought. It had been two years since was called by any of the others- especially Dr. Gilmore, who had kept to himself after Black Ghost had finally been destroyed. He had then rested into a mindset that since the heads of the organization were finally dead, and the organization itself thrown into shambles, he and his fellow cyborgs could finally experience the one thing they all wanted more than anything:

Peace.

Having to go back.. back to fight whatever had gotten the professor to call him just when he was finally beginning to think that he could be able to rest a little easier at night.

'_But then again,_' he thought. '_I haven't been resting easier at night for weeks..._'  
  
"_004? Is something wrong_?"  
  
Albert chuckled softly to mask his current feelings. "Don't worry, professor- I'm fine. What about the others?"  
  
"_They're on their way as we speak, but since I know about your personal feelings, I wanted to make sure that you were absolutely sure you wanted to come back to us._" Dr. Gilmore paused as he thought about how to put his next revelation. "_This could be about Black Ghost._"  
  
"Black Ghost?!" Albert was dumbstruck. After the past events, he hoped that he would never hear that horrible name again. "But we defeated the organization two years ago... how could they--"  
  
"_I know it's hard to believe, but this sounds like a plot that could determine if they're finally coming out of hiding._"  
  
"Hiding?"  
  
"_Yes... I know we all believe with great hope that it was destroyed that day.. but as horrible as it is, something as large as Black Ghost can't just disappear. I could tell you more, but time is of the essence, I'll explain the rest once everyone is together. Hurry to the lab, 004- I'm counting on you and the others!_"  
  
"...I understand." The drone of the disconnection tone continued to sound though the reciever as Albert took a heavy sigh.

Battling... that was something he hated. Every time he did that, he felt he had become someone that he detested with every fiber of his being- a killing machine that would live and die to destroy. He hated battle so much because it scared him. It wasn't a secret to anyone he knew that his chaotic and tragic life had made him a hardened nihilist... but anyone else wouldn't know it at first. He always tried hard to mask his anger and sadness with a mild-mannered, friendly disposition.

No doubt none of the other 00-number Cyborgs liked their still quite newfound lot in life, either. Still, he had been told by so many people thoughout his life, "There will always be have-tos".  
  
He had to continue to remind himself why he had to keep fighting. For the past two years of "peacetime", he returned to Germany again to continue to recollect the lost 40 years of his past. Looking for more old friends who had literally become old, finding any more family that might've survived...  
  
In his cluttered mess of thoughts, all he could do was turn his sideways glance into a hard stare at the framed photo on his bedstand- a momento from one of his "Grand-nieces" in Austria.

  
  
_Memories of happier times..._

  
  
_to be continued_

_Quote taken from "The Quotation Page" at _


	2. Chapter 1: First Contact

**_A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth._**  
_ -George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950), "Man and Superman" (1903), act I  
_

_**The Ballad of 0014**_ _  
by DigistarDBZ  
_

_Chapter 1: First Contact  
_

* * *

The corridors of the laboratory were long and winding, but still, Joe Shimamura knew these hallways by heart. After all, for all he was concerned, his life revolved around these hallways. 

Brushing back the tuft of dark brown hair that always seemed to be around one of his eyes, a twist of the wrist opened a door labeled "front office". That led him to a room that had eight other people, each of varying age and nationality, yet all wearing the same red uniform with long yellow mufflers that he was, standing before a desk. They all turned to look at him, still the same smiling, friendly faces that he had come to consider his family after all that they had been through.

"009," Jet Link said with a quick smirk upon his face, turning to meet Joe as he entered. "We were thinking you ran so fast to get here you ran into the distant future."

Joe smiled warmly in amusement as he walked to join the others, his fellow '00-number Cyborgs'. "If that were the case, it wouldn't have been anything different than what happened with the mutant assassins," he joked. "It's been a long time... I've missed you all."

"A reunion will be necessary later," the old man seated at the desk spoke, standing up as he tapped his polished wooden smoking pipe on the desk. "This situation could determine if Black Ghost is trying to re-emerge from the ashes."

"I still just don't understand," Joe said as he tried to comprehend the unthinkable thought of something as huge, as evil as the Black Ghost organization was, to be returning. "With its true leaders gone, I just don't see why anyone would continue to follow the ideals of 'speading the seeds of war'!"

"Things as large as Black Ghost was don't simply disappear," the man, 65-year-old Dr. Isaac Gilmore, said with a worried glint in his aged eyes. "With what happened at a warehouse in Italy, it doesn't surprise me to think that pockets of the organization still believe in something like that. Greed, blind ambition.. all of those things can be driving factors."

Joe winced as he remember what happened two years ago. The smell of burning flesh- his own, if he could even begin to comprehend it- was still too fresh in his mind. If little 001 hadn't saved Jet and himself...

_"Don't concern yourself with those things, 009,"_> Joe heard the familiar small voice of Ivan Wiskey say to him telepathically. _ "What happened, has happened, and you can't live in the past forever."_>

"That's easy for you to say, 001," Jet replied smugly, leaning against the wall. "You're still just a baby, and I thought the past shouldn't concern someone like you." He wasn't sure, but Jet could've sworn that under that large puff of light aquamarine hair, a sour glare was shot at him.

"This is no time to exchange fighting words, 002!" Dr. Gilmore spoke to the American with an annoyed snap and a look in his eyes to match. "This situation is very serious and requires everyone's full attention!"

Silence filled the room as Dr. Gilmore cleared his throat to continue. Jet never liked it when the professor repremanded him for speaking his mind, but he had come to learn to hold his tounge regardless.

"Now then.. this warehouse was almost forgotten by Black Ghost because almost all of its attention was drawn onto all of you. Even if they did remember, they probably didn't get the chance to open the suspension capsules because of the destruction of their leaders and initial scatter of all the soldiers and scientists."

"Suspension capsules?" Francoise Arnoul asked, realizing what the professor was implying. "You mean there are--"

"Other 00-number cyborgs, just like all of you. Some even as old as the first four of you." Dr. Gilmore finished for her. "Except, sadly, tests had shown them to be defects and virtually unuseable in battle."

"If that's the case, why did they store them anyway?" Pyunma asked. "If 00-number cyborgs were supposed to be the ultimate fighting machines, they would either fix them or make them Cyborg Men."

"Perhaps they didn't have time to," Dr. Gilmore replied to the young African man. "Or maybe they were waiting if the moment had come that the organization would be destroyed, that there would be survivors would rebuild the army."

Francoise's heart froze painfully as she covered her mouth. "To think that all those innocent people..." She felt Joe's hand hold her shoulder, and then turned her head to see him give her a reassuring smile.

"So, why don't we just open 'em all up and have them work with us?" Jet queried. "Then we'd be the ones with one giant Earth-protecting army!"

"You forget," Dr. Gilmore replied. "I told you that most of them are defects. How do you know that they're not completely useless... or worse?"

"...Oh." Jet held his head down, his idea deflated as swiftly as it had come to mind. "Well... it's just a suggestion!"

"So what does this have to do with our new mission, professor?" Joe asked.

Dr. Gilmore closed his eyes before continuing uneasily.

"..One of them was stolen."

A few surprised gasps came from a few of the 00-number cyborgs. Dr. Gilmore sighed heavily before continuing once more.

"If you recall, the last 00-Number Cyborg that they released was number 0013."

"Yes, we remember," Joe said sadly, the memories of the battle that many years ago, and the gentle cyborg's last words about being his friend.. Joe often thought about what would've been if 0013 wasn't trying to fight against him until the very last moments. He also wondered why they stopped sending 00-number cyborgs after them after that, but then again, he began to wonder if this new mission was to find exactly that out.

"So what's next?" Great Britain inquired, giving a grin as if he was making a joke. "00**14**, I assume?"

"Well, that's the interesting point," Dr. Gilmore replied. "The cyborg I was told about doesn't have an official 00-number."

Britain's smug, sarcastic expression turned to a shocked and surprised one. "Come again?"

"Yes, the one that was stolen was a prototype for 'necromancy', meaning that this one, from what I understand, was dead for some time before being brought back to life." Dr. Gilmore said as shots of the stasis capsules came into view on the monitor behind him. "I was never told of gender, nationality or age, and any of its abilities were 'brushed under the rug', so to speak. So when we find the 00-number cyborg, we have to find out his or her abilities, lest the ones who stole the capsule find out first and use it against us."

"Then we have to hurry before they find out first," Geronimo Junior added. "If this cyborg is extremely dangerous, we would rather have him or her on our side."

"But what if that one's a defect, too?" Chang Changku said matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. "If that's the case, then even the bad guys would've done it for nothing!"

"006, you worry far too much," Albert said with a smirk as he placed his metallic right hand on the short man's head. "They wouldn't taken it if they had known that it was a defect."

"We must find that capsule and bring it back here- if the people who stole it are in fact part of a Black Ghost faction, then who knows what kind of chaos could begin!"

"Then we can't just stay here, we have to help that cyborg!" Joe voiced in approval. It was a strange feeling for him to be back in a feeling of action after two years- at first, it seemed so long and peaceful, but now looking back on it all, those two years actually whisked by him without even realizing it.

"I'll explain more on the way to your new ship," Dr. Gilmore said as he paced amongst the cyborgs. "I assume I told you about it when I contacted each of you?"

* * *

The ocean, at the same time calm and turbulent, suddenly came more alive than it was several moments ago as a large red metal fin rushed from under the water and slowly emerged to be only on the back of a large, bottle-and-cone-shaped red and white ship, water spraying and flowing from a myriad of directions as the ship surfaced. 

It might've been her first real flight, but the "Dolphin II" was truly a sight to behold, as if she had flown many times before like her predecessor.

Inside the bridge, the nine 00-number cyborgs and professor braced as the ship rocketed into the stratosphere, at speeds that you wouldn't normally associate with a ship of her size. At this point, they had been used to riding around enough in the original Dolphin to know what it was like to ride in a ship like this. However, Dr. Gilmore had personally spent the last two years developing and contracting the building of this new model- sleeker, faster.. it was as if the Dolphin herself had been reborn from her ashes, better than ever before.

Adjusting the controls, the two pilots at the controls, Pyunma and Joe, eased the throttles and made the speed of the ship a little more bearable for its occupants, allowing them to relax in their seats and wait for their as-yet-undetermined arrival location.

"The video said that they were taking the capsule to Tibet," Dr. Gilmore told them, pointing over Francoise's shoulder at the radar screen. "No one is sure exactly where in Tibet they're taking it, so we'll have to stop in Venice to get the necessary tracking codes. If we follow these coordinates, we should be there in about 45 minutes."

"Do you think that'll be enough time?" Francoise asked, inputting the coordinates into the radar's computer.

"Hopefully, if this ship will do just what we designed it to do."

"We?" Joe asked, unsure of who-or what- the professor was talking about.

"Do you think I've just been sitting around for the past few years and not making some friends?" Dr. Gilmore replied with a wry smile, eliciting some smiles from the crew.

"...Then let's just hope that's not 45 minutes too late." Joe said as he turned his head back to the window, and to the controls. "All right, let's set our course to Italy. Target: Venice."

"Understood, 009." Pyunma replied as he and Joe increased the throttle once more. This time, the team was more adjusted to the sub-sonic speed, and were able to comfortably wait until their destination was reached.

Still, it didn't mean that Albert was any more comfortable with his own situation. He held his head and took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Something troubling you, 004?" Jet asked him.

"..It's nothing." Albert replied, shaking his head. "...I'm just trying to figure out this dream I had last night."

"A dream?" Geronimo leaned over a bit in his seat. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but perhaps I can help. Grandfather taught me how to interpret dreams back in Arizona when I was a child."

"..It's nothing, really." Albert faked a smile and waved his still-human-looking left hand around as if to dismiss it. "I'll figure it out on my own."

Jet and Geronimo looked at each other in confusion before returning to their original positions.

Yet, he still wasn't sure if he could really figure it out by himself. He hadn't dreamt about Hilda in a nightmare like that in years... the vision of her being pulled away by those cables and being taken apart before his own eyes still wouldn't leave him...

He had dreams and flashbacks initially after he was reawakened as a cyborg, and even well after he had been reawakened with 001, 002 and 003 into the 21st century. Those seemed to fade as time went on, and yet she was never far from the back of his mind.

In fact, he always kept his wedding ring in a necklace around his neck, and no one ever really saw it unless he took it out of his shirt or jacket to show them. A vow to himself to wait for Hilda in heaven.

He sighed in lament. He almost broke that promise to himself two years ago during the last battle with Black Ghost.

Vena.

Somehow, Helen, Vena.. all of them, they were more than just the Pu'wak clones the Zatan had created them to be. Especially Vena. He felt he couldsee Hilda in her eyes... that in the darkest depths of his mind, that she could replace Hilda.. make him feel as if he wasn't alone on Earth- a place that he would probably stay for a long, long time. And the sight of her and her "sisters" being murdered in cold blood by Van Bogoot- simply for choosing not to follow him or Black Ghost in general anymore- that was still a painful sore in his heart that hadn't yet healed.

'_No! I can't live in the past like this..._' he demanded to himself. '_Both of them, Hilda and Vena.. they would want me to move on. Living in the past is what's giving me these nightmares..._'

Yes, it had to be like that. It just had to be.

He wiped the thin sheen of cold sweat off his face, praying that the others wouldn't notice.

* * *

As any of them knew, the 00-Number cyborgs never wore their uniforms out in public unless they were fighting anything there. Most of the time, they hid them under their specifically-made casual attire, made in such a way that when the time arose, they could easily be pulled off to reveal the simple, but striking red and yellow uniform underneath. 

Still, it was rather odd to see nine people of various nationalities walking together in San Marco Square, with only one woman causally carrying a baby on her back.

"Professor, we've arrived in San Marco Square, how far are we from the warehouse?" Joe said as he talked into a small cell phone.

"The tracking system in your phone should be able to bring back a reading of where you are in a matter of moments," Dr. Gilmore's voice said from the other end before a short pause. "...About seven blocks from a small vendor's booth. Look for a 'Novità Speciali' near the Clock Tower, and search it."

"But how will we know where to look? And if there's anyone still there?"

"I would assume no one is there, it's been abandoned since Black Ghost fell. Still, keep your guard up just in case."

"Understood." Joe pressed an "End" button and passed the information to the other eight around him. "All right, Dr. Gilmore said to look for a shack called '_Novità Speciali_' seven blocks from here towards the Clock Tower. 003, can you find out if you can see it from here?"

"Of course," she replied before focusing her attention towards the large, majestic monument in the distance. Her vision started at normal focus, then zoomed in seven blocks away, as her function was programmed to do so. Scanning the area slowly, she saw many shops and people wandering with their own intentions, but still no...

"...009! I think I've found it!" She suddenly exclaimed, pointing outwards. "Follow me, I know exactly where it is!"

"Leave it to Francoise to know where something is.." Jet mused with a smug smile as he and the rest of the cyborgs followed Francoise down the street and through bustling crowds of tourists. Stopping only when Francoise did, she pointed at a sign that only hung on by three loose nails.

"If that does not say '_Novità Speciali'_," Britain remarked as he and the others looked up. "Then please tell me what it **does** say!"

But it does say '_Novità Speciali_'," Chang replied, only to be replied in turn with a knock to the head with a small hammer, which shifted and changed shape to become Britain's hand once more.

The Englishman rolled his eyes, putting his hands in his pockets. "Some people just don't know what 'sarcasm' is."

"Keep your eyes peeled, even if it looks abandoned, there might still be guards here." Joe told them as the nine shuffled into the small shack.

Small as it was, '_Novità Speciali_' was indeed abandoned to the untrained eye. Several small items were scattered around the floor and shelves, and if anyone was still selling anything, dust and cobwebs would be in plentiful supply.

"Whoever set this up, obviously made sure no one would be the wiser about this place..." Pyunma commented as the team patted and searched the walls. "Do you suppose that whoever came here covered their tracks?"

Being the only one unable to search for anything other than clues on Francoise's back, a quick glance from Ivan located in a sea of their own footprints, one giant footprint in the dust... and definitely wasn't Geronimo's.

_"003, look at this!"_>

The sound of the baby Russian boy's voice in her head caused her to whirl around and notice the footprint in the dust.

"005.. is this yours?" she asked to the large American Indian man beside her. He knelt to look at the large footprint, and compared it to his own.

"..Apparently, it's noticeably larger than my own," he commented as the others paused in their search to look. "Whoever made this was rather large."

"And there's another one!" Chang declared as he found another one, trying desperately to get up out of his knelt position beside the second large footprint before landing straight on his bottom.

Francoise narrowed her eyes as her zoom vision came into focus again. Sure enough, near the far southwest wall, the large footprints suddenly ended. Her vision then focused on a section of the wall, and with careful focus, her X-Ray vision managed to find what looked like a doorway to darkness. "...The door to the basement is back there!"

It was only a few seconds before the rest of the team had gathered beside the southwest wall, with Francoise in front and her super-sensitive ears pressed against the wall.

"...I think I hear something... something hollow..."

"Then it's down there?" Jet asked.

"I saw the doorway, but I'm not sure how to open it..." she replied, knocking the wall as she moved slowly against it. "Still, anything that sounds thinner than the wall must be the way to open it..."

"What exactly are we waiting for, anyways?" Jet said as he drew his small laser pistol. "Let's just blast the thing down!"

"No, 002!" Albert shouted as he grabbed Jet's hand. "You can't just bust in there- what if some other person finds this place and makes a media circus about it!"

"What does the media know about some old shack? And why do you care what happens?"

"You forget that there are scores of cyborgs in suspended animation down there, 002," Joe added. "If anyone finds them, they'll call authorities and if there's any Black Ghost factions out there, they'll find this place and unleash the whole lot on us! Busting down the door won't do them, nor us a whole lot of good!"

A small, yet very, very noticeable 'click' was sounded as Francoise's expression suddenly brightened. The wooden door slid open to reveal a large, dark stairwell, extending downward.

"..And you wanted to blow the door down, 002?" Francoise teased, winking at the young American man as his face flushed red.

"Come on, we don't have any time to waste!" Joe said urgently as he started down the fleet of stairs before pausing. "...006! We need you to light the way for us!"

"That's no problem!" Chang said smugly as he inhaled sharply, and out from his mouth he started to blow a small, but vibrantly illuminated flame. His reply was supposed to be 'follow me', but came out as '_fwuw mm!_'

* * *

"Ok, is anyone going to tell me when this stairway ends?" 

"Be patient, 002- I assume we'll be down soon," Geronimo replied to Jet as the nine descended the dark stairwell, only illuminated by the small flame that was being blown out of Chang's mouth.

"And how do you know that? We've been walking forever!"

_"Actually about a minute and a half."_>

"Never tell me the exact time!" Jet could never get used to the fact that he could bicker with a baby.

Still, the length of the staircase was beginning to get on everyone's nerve endings. Even the most patient of them were starting to get the urgency of the mission sinking in. To them, it was painfully apparent that whoever designed this place made this the first barrier to the warehouse.

"003, any end to this in sight?" Joe asked.

A moment's pause switched Francoise's normal eyesight to green-tinted night vision, and zoomed downwards towards the last step... wherever it was. "...It should be any moment now, the fleet left is about... 15, I think."

"About time," Jet sighed, hoping that these last few 15 steps wouldn't take so long to get down. "I was beginning to thing this was one of those 'mystic, never-ending staircases'."

"Aw, grow up, 002!" Britain chuckled as he nudged him with his elbow. "With all of the things we've seen, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case!"

Jet tried to come up with a retort, but found himself stewing in his anger enough to not come up with anything.

Chang tried to agree about his discomfort in walking down so many steps, but the flame that he was trying to keep lit kept muffling him.

Francoise's eyes then widened as she saw exactly what was at the end of the stairwell.

"..This must be the place, all right. There's a giant vault door right at the bottom!"

"A vault door?" Joe asked. "Then.. that warehouse must be right behind the door! Hurry, we don't have too many steps left!"

"Mmph!" Chang took that as a cue to try and hurry up, but a missed step sent the team's living lamp bouncing like a rubber ball down the last row of steps and landing with a loud metallic '**thud**' into the door. The others winced at the painful-sounding thump as the fire-breathing cyborg tried to get his back out of the thick steel door.

"006! What happened?" Joe asked as the others ran down to help him. Being the cyborg with super-fast reflexes, Joe was able to reach him in less than a second. "Are you all right?"

"_Oww_! I think I need a chiropractor, 009!" Chang whimpered as he flapped and waved his arms to try and get himself unstuck. "Help me!"

"005! We need your help!" Joe called as the rest of the team finally made it to the bottom stairwell. Geronimo cracked his knuckles before grabbing a hold of Chang and giving a sharp pull before he went flying from Geronimo's hands and face-first into the stairs.

"...Well, at least he's not stuck in the door anymore." Jet commented dryly.

"Very funny!" Chang howled angrily, holding his nose. "I think I broke it again!"

Joe, on the other hand, took one good look at the door and attempted to twist the vault's large valve handle. To his surprise, even with his own enhanced strength, the valve budged very little under his grasp. "...It's stuck! I don't know how they opened in it, but somehow it's designed to open only at tremendous pressure..!"

"It is," Ivan replied, looking the door up and down. "More or less like the doors that tried to keep us from escaping the island were we first met. I suggest you might need help opening it."

"Allow me, 009." Geronimo said as he motioned Joe to allow him to move over and allow him access. Taking a deep breath and stretching for a moment, he then grasped the valve tightly and motioned Joe to assist. "Let's do it."

Joe nodded in approval as the two began to turn the powerfully-tight valve. Straining loudly as both of their super-human cyborg strengths was pushed hard, the valve began to move, slowly at first, but then quicker and quicker until the ironman cyborg was able to step back and allow Joe to turn the valve without the aid of his enhancements.

In a similar fashion to its previous visitors the night before, the door finally swung open and slammed against the wall with a loud noise to accompany it. The team was then greeted by the same rush of cold air that was a direct contrast to the heat of the Italian summer. Motioning for the team to draw their pistols in case of attack, Joe began to walk into the warehouse- slowly at first, but then quickening ever-so-slightly, yet still retaining the cautious edge.

"It would be helpful if there was a lightswitch around here or something," Britain said as he and Chang stood back to back, waddling to synch their steps to stay that way. "Maybe you could light up again and-"

"Ohhh no," Chang said bitterly, shaking his head. "I'm not doing **that** again! I'd be happier looking for the real thing, thank you very much!"

_"But there is a lightswitch,"_> 001 said, glancing about the room. _"003 would be able to find it."_>

Francoise took this as a notion to try looking for it. It took several moments, but it wasn't long before the vision of the other cyborgs was flooded with a dim, but unusually strong halogen light.

"Joe..." Francoise started to speak, her voice laced in horror. Normally on missions, they would go under their code numbers- but if they said anything with their real names, then it was a true cause for concern. 

Joe and the others turned around to look at the sight before them- rows upon rows of capsules- hundreds of them, as far as the eye could see.

And each one of them had a human- or at least, someone that once was a human- inside them. As the one with the telescopic vision and x-rays embedded in her eyes, she was able to see what kinds of people were taken away from their families and homes and turned into half-machines designed for war: men and women of all ages and nationalities- the youngest that she could see were several toddlers that were probably a few years older than Ivan's host body.

"Oh, my God... Joe, it's..." She then buried her face in Joe's shoulder, not wanting to see any more. "It's so horrible... why? Why would they do this to so many innocent..!"

"Shh... it's all right.." Joe soothed as he held Francoise close, the other cyborgs looking at all the capsules in perhaps equal shock and horror. "Black Ghost will never do this to any more innocent people..." He then added darkly, "I promise, never again. **Never** again."

"So now what?" Britain asked as the others looked at the capsules. "With all of these capsules, you wonder what kind of abilities these people have!" He finished his sentence by leaning his hand against one of the capsules.

"If you remember, we're looking for a missing capsule," Albert reminded him. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're leaning on the empty spot where that capsule used to be."

"..Oh."

He made a double-take for a moment before falling over on his side, yelping in pain as his body made rather rough contact with the stubby pipes and plugs below him.

"...I hope that was my keys..." he muttered painfully as some of the others ran to check on what happened.

Joe and Francoise ran up to meet the others at the empty space between two of the occupied capsules in that particular row. "So that's where this cyborg used to be, right?"

"If it wasn't, I'd eat my own hat if I had it immediately with me!" Britain said as he got up, pulling a pipe out of his side.

Joe nodded before taking the phone out of his pocket again. "Dr. Gilmore, you there?"

"_Of course I am, otherwise you'd be in a bit of a jam!_" he joked over the line. "Now, I take it you found where our lost cyborg used to be?"

"007 and 004 did, but now we're not sure what to do. Is there something here that we're supposed to look for?"

"_A code against the wall._" He replied matter-of-factly. "_It's small, so you won't be able to see it that easily. It should look a little like a bar code mixed with a serial number._"

"Small, huh?" Francoise already anticipated what Joe's request of her would be. After all, it may have been considered eavesdropping, but her microphonic ears could pick up more than one would anticipate. "003?"

"All right." She had already put her abilities to great use already today, so this time was no exception for her. She knelt near the wall, careful not to put her weight against anything sharp or painful like 007 did. (Of course, he was still pulling shards out of his side at this point)

"Do you see anything yet?" Pyunma asked as he knelt down beside her, along with Jet and Joe.

Francoise squinted her eyes. Even at her current zoom magnification, it was difficult to see- as if the code was only visible under a certain condition. "009, something's wrong, I don't seem to see anything, and I'm trying all the settings I have!"

"_Don't worry, I heard her,_" Dr. Gilmore said over the phone, just as Joe was going to tell him what happened.. "_I guess more of the current ones use infrared light in order to see them._"

Francoise tensed. "But... I don't have any infrared sight! How will I be able to see it now?"

There was silence on the other end of the line as the other seven cyborgs crowded around the lot to find out what was going on.

"_...Of course, why didn't I think of that before?_" The cyborgs were taken aback by the professor's sudden elated outburst. "_003, I know you can hear me, so please take the phone!_"

Francoise was perplexed, to say the least. "Take the phone? Why?"

"_Simple, you channel the wireless energy that's connecting the phone. Use your X-ray vision, and it'll give you a surge of infrared channel to allow you to see the code, so long as you hold the phone!_"

"Sounds crazy," Jet commented, stroking his chin. "But it's just crazy enough to work!"

"Try it, 003- it might just be our only hope!" Joe said as he held out the cell phone to her. She was just as confused as the rest of them, but if Dr. Gilmore thought that it would work, then it had to.

"Okay... let's just hope this does work..." She took a deep breath and took the phone from Joe's hand, clutching the device in her hands as she closed her eyes.

"Is she going to be all right?" Chang asked, looking on as Francoise concentrated.

"Don't worry, the professor wouldn't do anything to harm any of us. Cell phones do run on bits of infrared to communicate with each other." Albert reassured him, remembering back to the time when he was learning just how those things worked.

Francoise opened her eyes quickly- as if a burst of a strange something had flung them open for her. Her normally greenish-tinted x-ray vision had been turned a brilliant burst of red, and was suddenly seeing many different codes, messages and things she wished she hadn't seen scribbled and printed against the wall- things she would've normally missed even with X-rays.

"Professor... I see them all! There's so many... so many codes!" She said into the phone, as if in a panic. "I.. I don't know where to begin!"

"_Calm down, I know this is new for you, 003, but I need you to listen closely. Codes are usually located right at the bottom where the wall meets the floor. Do you see anything there?_"

Francoise leaned herself down towards what fit the description of the professor's intial description- a mix between a bar code and a serial number that you would find on computer software.

"Yes.. this one reads 1623-FSD412-7714-X... do you suppose this is the one?"

"_I'll check. If you hear any beeping over the line, then it means that's our cyborg._"

There was a period that felt like eternal silence. Francoise gave the phone back to Joe, and immediately, the flushed red tint in her vision faded back to normal. She had to catch her breath from the overwhelming feeling of channeling infrared light into her vision.

Silence.

Silence still for several moments. Everyone continued to be on the edge, praying that this was it.

_**beep**_

There was a collective gasp at the sound of the beeping.

_**beep**_

"_...I've found him! I've found our missing cyborg!_"

None of them ever thought that a simple beeping sound over a phone could bring so much joy. Britain grabbed the first person he could get his hands on (Which unfortunately happened to be Chang) and spun him around in a joyous circle. 

"_...I'd hold your celebrations if I were you,_" Dr. Gilmore added on an ominous note moments later. "_Because wherever this capsule is, it's now moving- at a speed almost that of a jet airliner!_"

"What!" Joe yelped in shock before regaining his firm grip on the phone. "Where is it going?"

"Right now, it's 1,500 miles away and heading northeast towards central Asia- and the location is indeed Tibet!"

"Can we catch it?"

"If we go at maximum speed on the Dolphin II- we'd be able to catch up to it at least 15 minutes after takeoff."

"Then we don't have any of those minutes to lose!" Joe replied as he motioned everyone towards the doors. "Come on everyone, we have to get that capsule!"

The team shuffled towards the door without a single hint of hesitation.

...Well, perhaps except for Chang.

"...You mean we have to **climb** those stairs now!"

* * *

"The commercial airliner is out of range, m'lady," A cloaked and turbaned pilot, only one of ten pilots manning a wide console on the airship's bridge announced as he turned from the massive radar screen. "The mountains are going to be behind us in 5 minutes." 

"Excellent. Make sure that we are continued to fly undetected back to base." The woman, the very same that was in the cyborg vault the night before, replied to the radar-manned pilot. "Need I remind you all that this stasis capsule is the most valuable cargo you're ever going to carry."

"Yes, m'lady!" The pilots replied proudly in perfect unison.

The woman took a deep breath as she continued to look out the window. Everything was falling into place perfectly. It was as if nothing, not even any incompetent foot soldiers, could spoil such a triumphant moment.

"...M'lady, I've picked up something heading our way at... Mach 2 maximum..." the radar-manning pilot said in a state of surprise. "Whatever it is, it'll intercept us in 5 minutes and we won't be able to outrun it."

"What!" The woman roared as she dashed to look at the radar screen. Sure enough, there was a large blip on the screen, closing in faster and faster. "Can't you make this piece of crap run faster!"

"M'lady," another pilot at the controls replied nervously. "The fastest this ship can reach is well under Mach 1- cargo ships like this aren't designed for speed!"

"Never tell me what is and what isn't possible on a ship! I want to find out what this ship wants with us immediately!"

* * *

"We're closing in fast, everyone- about 3 minutes to interception with the airship." 

"008, slow the ship down to about the airship's speed- we've caught up as far as we could without crashing into it." Joe said.

"Holy hell..." Jet gaped, looking upon the sight in front of him . "What kind of ship _is_ this thing...! It's gotta be bigger than hell in a handbasket!"

It was true, the Dolphin II had to be at least two times smaller than the large, brown-painted cargo ship in front of them.

And the shocking part was that the Dolphin II was at no size to be laughed at, herself.

"What kind of things are they carrying in that thing?" Albert asked, in awe of the cargo ship's huge size. "That sort of ship could carry whole army battalions!"

"Do you suppose it's a Black Ghost ship?" Britain inquired, literally bringing his jaw up back to his mouth from the floor. (Being able to shift his shape into anything, his over-embellishing nature allowed him to make extreme expressions that no one would be able to pull off in real life.)

"I don't want to rule that out, but..." Dr. Gilmore stopped, then turned back to Francoise. "003, see if you can open a connection between us and that ship. 009, find want to find out what they want with that capsule."

"Roger." Francoise replied as she worked several of the communication ports to access the cargo ship's video and audio frequency- if it had one. "009, you're on!"

* * *

"M'lady!" A pilot at a communications panel shouted. "We're being hailed!" 

"By whom? Is it that ship that's behind us?" the woman asked sharply as she went to check the communications panel.

"Yes, m'lady." He then paused in shock as he received more of the audio message through his headphones. "...They wish to discuss the cyborg stasis capsule we have on our ship."

"Well, then they've been tracking us..." the woman mused aloud. "Whoever they are, they want the capsule we have. Bring their message onscreen, I want to know who these people are."

"Yes, m'lady." the pilot replied as he entered several codes into the keyboard. A monitor lowered onto the window and flickered to life with a hum.

The woman's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "A young man? In that cyborg's uniform?"

"_Cargo ship, this is the Dolphin II calling for your attention," the audio, conveying Joe's message, blared from the speakers. "You have an item, a cyborg suspension capsule, that was stolen last night from Venice. We wish to investigate your ship to find this capsule, then you may return on your way. Please land and prepare to be boarded for a search._"

"And who are you to give me orders, young man?" The woman said sternly, raising an eyebrow.

"_..I am Cyborg 009 of the Dolphin II. Please land your ship and prepare to be boarded, and we will leave you alone after our search._"

'009!' The number rang a bell with the woman- of course, now her suspicions were confirmed! This was indeed the 009 that...

"Well? What is your response? Land peacefully, and we will let you go on your way without confrontation."

"My answer...?" the woman said as her eyes suddenly narrowed. "**OPEN FIRE!**"

* * *

Joe got his answer indeed. 

The bridge of the Dolphin II rattled and shook as the first of the bullets started to be fired upon the ship from the four gattling guns at the bottom of the two wings.

"What just happened!" Dr. Gilmore shouted as he held on to a wall bar.

"Several heavy-ammunition shells were just fired at us, and they're still going!" Pyunma reported as he tried to climb back into his seat. "I think--" he was cut off as another round bounced off the top of the ship, sending everyone who wasn't completely secured was flung violently out of their seats.

"Well, do something about it!" Joe shouted in reply. "I know there's something, but--" he was cut off momentarily as another hit shook the ship- this time, the blow softened as Ivan let loose a telekinetic barrier, only one lone eye glowing eerily under his puffy hair as he concentrated intensely on protecting the ship.

_"Professor, I don't know if I can hold it for very long, we'd better come up with a plan and fast!"_>

Dr. Gilmore pondered for a moment, looking around to see if he could come up with an immediate plan.

"002, 005- you have to board the ship- the stasis capsules are very heavy, and 005's the only one who can lift them. But we have to make sure to destroy those gun turrets before you can pull up and get him onto the ship!" He then said.

"All right! 002, 005- board the ship and get that capsule- we'll concentrate on destroying those gun turrets so that you can reboard this ship when you get that capsule!" Joe said, conveying the message to the two cyborgs.

"Yeah!" Jet said mischievously as he punched his fist into his hand. "Finally, I thought we were never going to get to do something **fun** on this mission."

"You have to take this seriously, 002," Geronimo added cautiously. "We can't let that capsule be destroyed- we must know what they want with it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun doing it. C'mon, G-Junior."

"Be careful- there's a lot at stake here!" Dr. Gilmore interjected as Jet and Geronimo ran for the exit ramp. "Make sure it's not damaged in any way!"

Whether or not Jet listened with an open ear is Jet's own secret, but with a code punched into a keypad that seemed to anyone else that it was second nature to him, a sliding ramp opened before him with nothing but blue skies and mountains below. With Geronimo holding him around his waist, a bomb dive that would've certainly sent anyone else spiraling to their death didn't for Jet.

Because he didn't have twin jet-propulsion engines in both his feet for no good reason.

Flaring loudly to life in a haze of smoke and billowing fire out of his heels, Jet took to the air with Geronimo in tow- and while someone of his size was incredibly heavy, the airtime that was rewarded at Jet's incredible speed well made up for it.

"You don't suppose 001's gonna be able to shield us from those shells, do you?" Jet shouted over the noise of gunfire and the two ships, both behind them and in front of them.

"If I know him," Geronimo replied, probably only a bit louder than Jet because of his deep voice. "He's probably watching our every movement- it could be diminished because he's concentrating so hard on protecting the ship!"

"Then we find a place to land and get in there!"

"_We'll guide you to the capsule- don't worry, 001's got you covered!_" Albert's voice said over their internal communicators. "_It should be over to the top right- we'll tell you when to stop moving upward!_"

"Top right, got it!" Jet replied as he moved in the said direction, only stopping when the voice in the communicator said so, the two finally found themselves before where the directions given to them by Albert and Francoise led them to where the capsule should be inside the ship.

"Go above, that way we can get in easier!" Geronimo told Jet as Jet flew higher, towards what he hoped was a ceiling. Rearing his fist back with all the momentum he had, Geronimo let loose a punch that tore a hole into the top of the ship.

But while the hole was probably big enough for himself and Jet to squeeze through, he didn't want to take the chance.

* * *

"There it goes again! This confirms that the hull near the capsule storage has been breeched!" one of the pilots shouted. "That cyborg was right- we are being boarded by them!" 

"This complicates things more than I wish it to..." the woman growled as her clenched fist shook. "Ububu!" She shouted into the intercom. "Take care of our 'visitors'."

* * *

With gravity back to normal, Geronimo finally let go of Jet's waist as the engines in Jet's feet finally died down to complete quiet. 

"All right, we find the capsule, hope the others blast out those guns, and we get out. That can't possibly be that hard to do."

"And we've always been proven wrong in those kind of situations, if I might remind you," Geronimo remarked bluntly.

"Ha, ha."

Crossing the next room, Geronimo forced the doors open as they were confronted with a scene that seemed to be right out of an advanced sci-fi movie.

With the capsule disconnected from the warehouse, it needed a separate power source to keep its occupant frozen. That power source had to be a super-device in and of itself.

"Man... what kind of operation are these people running?"

"I'm not the kind of person to stay and find out." Geronimo replied as he pulled the cables and wires out of the capsule, then proceeded to attempt to lift the capsule up and about his shoulders.

"005, you never cease to amaze me with that," Jet remarked as in his watching Geronimo work, he failed to noticed something coming behind him.

"002! **MOVE!**"

Jet didn't know why Geronimo suddenly shouted like that, but Jet did move- and barely caught a glimpse of the giant fist that nearly connected with his head. "What the hell!"

"I Ububu," the rumbling voice, thick and heavy with a middle-eastern accent, said with no recognizable emotion. Its owner was a hulking behemoth of a man in a traditional Arabic warrior's garb, eyeing them with soulless gray eyes. "I come to kill you now."

"What the hell is he?" Jet said as he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You," Ububu pointed at Geronimo, who had the capsule in his arms. "Drop pod **now**."

"Yeah?" Jet said provokingly as he raised his fists. "Well, you'll have to get through _me_ first--"

He was cut off as a fist harder than any iron that Jet had ever felt suddenly crunched into his face, sending him flying off his feet and into the storage room with a loud crash and a mess to compliment it.

"Give me capsule, large man. I make your death painless. You don't, I make your death **very** painful."

Geronimo's eyes narrowed. Yes, he set the capsule down...

But what Ububu didn't expect was a fist that was at least as strong as his own connect with his. Geronimo strained loudly as he pushed Ububu back towards the wall, only to have a large leg corkscrew his own, sending him to the floor.

"You..." Geronimo said as he wiped a line of blood from his mouth. "You must be a cyborg as well- no normal human is ever that strong."

"I not care if Ububu a cyborg." Ububu said firmly as he grabbed Geronimo's arm. "I still kill you."

"I don't think you will anytime soon!" Geronimo countered as he grabbed the arm that was holding his own and sent Ububu flinging to the ground with a loud thud. Ububu roared as he charged at Geronimo, and was met with Geronimo managing to hold him back.

Jet groaned as he rose from the pile of boxes, books and wires that had covered him in his tumble. He could've sworn his vision was like a kaleidoscope as the world blinked and swirled around him.

"Ze...zero... 005...?" he murmured as he tried to stand up, fumbling for a shelf to give him support. "Oh, Jesus...! 0..05...! Hang on, I'm gonna--" he groped for support on the shelf again as his balance gave way for a moment. Rising to his feet, he knew that even through the concussion, he could definitely see that Geronimo needed help.

"Hang on.." He shakily drew his pistol and set it to a setting where he would at least be able to disable whoever was attacking Geronimo. "Come on, eyes... don't let me miss this one..."

"I crush your skull, large man!" Ububu roared as he pushed Geronimo to his knees. "I rip your head off neck now!"

A small part of the ironman cyborg was inclined to believe the behemoth that was trying to crush him, but... something out of the corner of his eye convinced him otherwise.

"I do not think you'll be crushing anything today, my friend."

"I **kill** you now! You don't say stupid things!"

Ububu was about to eat his words as Geronimo lift Ububu up away from him just enough for the giant man to get a blinding flash of yellow straight into his eyes.

"Good shot, 002!"

Ububu roared loudly as he grabbed his eyes, thrashing wildly as his opponent managed to escape him.

"Are you all right, 002?" Geronimo asked as Jet slumped against the wall, dropping his pistol.

"Yeah.." Jet slurred as he struggled to regain his balance. "Just... just get the license plate of that truck that hit me." He ended the statement with a painful-sounding wince, then allowing Geronimo to get ahold of him to keep him standing.

"Save your strength," Geronimo said as he placed Jet against the wall. "We need to get out of here before he gets his eyesight back."

"Yeah, just get the capsule an' 001'll probably do the rest."

"With pleasure," Geronimo replied as he reared his fist back, aiming it towards the window and punching a hole straight through the wall, window and all as the hallway depressurized and started to pull everything that wasn't secured somewhere out the window with great force.

"Look! There they are!" Jet pointed at the Dolphin II, which was pulling up towards them, apparently since they saw the large hole that was suddenly punched out. "C'mon... the sooner I get this fish-eye-lens out of my head the better...!"

"All right, 001..." Geronimo started, holding the capsule tightly as Jet held onto him in turn. "Let's hope you can get us onboard.."

Taking a deep breath, he let the suction of the depressurization take them all out of the hole and into a freefall. He hoped that 001 would be able to catch them, because even if Jet wasn't half-conscious, not even his powerful jets would be able to lift the combined weight of himself and the heavy capsule.

A sudden jolt and uplifting feeling from their freefall was all Geronimo and Jet needed to feel that little Ivan heard their request.

* * *

"So you actually failed me, Ububu?" 

Ububu rubbed his eyes after his laser-induced tantrum, his vision reduced to a clouded, sparkling gray haze.

Still, he was barely able to make out the outline, and enraged expression of his mistress.

"...U..Ububu is very sorry, mistress..."

"Never mind that," the woman said turning on her heels and motioning Ububu to follow her. "Come, even though we've hit this little nitch in our plans, we can still adapt so we can have that cyborg."

"Mistress still hasn't told Ububu why she want cyborg so bad."

"It will all be explained in time. Right now, I want to get all available assassins and troops and tell them they have new orders."

* * *

"Professor! They've done it!" 

That's all he needed to hear to finally exhale a relieved sigh. Jet and Geronimo entered the bridge, with Jet's arm around the taller cyborg's shoulder.

"Congratulations is in order," Dr. Gilmore started, looking proudly at the exhausted, but elated faces of the two cyborgs. "But first, the capsule must be opened and the 00-number cyborg revived." He then turned to Geronimo and Jet. "Where did you place it?"

"Medlab," Jet replied, using his chair as a support to hold him up. "Waiting for you to take a look."

"Perfect. Is 001 all right, 003?"

Francoise picked up the bassinet with the sleeping baby cyborg inside, walking towards Joe and Dr. Gilmore with a expression that seemed to imply relief. "He's worked hard today- he deserves it."

"He always does," Dr. Gilmore added. "He does far more than even I can imagine." He then motioned for the team to follow him to the medlab. "Come, we have to revive him as quickly as possible."

"One small detail, professor," 002 added as 005 helped him walk. "It might interest you that your 'him' is a 'her'.

* * *

"A _woman_," Britain mused as he looked over the pod. Frost had gathered on the glass, and covered a lot of the cyborg's initial identity. "That's certainly a surprise worth taking note over!" 

"I'll say, this is definately an interesting change in events!" Chang added, a quirky grin forming on his rotund face. "Maybe this means 003 won't have to be the only part-time waitress at my resteraunt!"

The rest of the cyborgs watched with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation as Dr. Gilmore looked over the capsule, awaiting any further actions that he was to perform upon it. Already he had checked knobs, tubes and even the airtight door that held the cyborg in stasis, and now silence filled the room.

It was an uneasy silence, Dr. Gilmore only putting his hand to his bearded chin in deep thought as he looked the capsule over again. The door, the wires, even the frost that had collected over the door because of its wild adventure to get to this point- nothing seemed to escape his eye.

"It seems that whoever attacked you had the equipment to keep this stasis capsule running, as the cyborg is in perfect condition." Dr. Gilmore finally said after what felt like an eternity of silence. "003, I need your help to hook up the computer to activate the combination to the door." He then turned to the others. "The rest of you be ready- if past experience has taught me anything, elasticity will return almost immediately once she's defrosted. So I need you to catch her if that happens."

Francoise stood forward and with the doctor's guidance, she hooked up several plugs and wires to the capsule, and switching the computer on with a hum, several blazingly fast keystrokes courtesy of the doctor caused lines and lines filled with codes to appear on the monitor. Some of the cyborgs still looked in awe at the amazing computing prowess of their mentor, even after being under his wing for so long.

Flashing digits and letters on the screen after a seemingly endless stream of code, a semi-vocal motion of approval came from the doctor as he finally pressed "Enter".

Immediately, the door to the capsule retracted in on itself, and a large, freezing cold cloud of gases and vaporized liquid shot out, filling the room and taking the team by complete surprise. What once looked stiff as a board suddenly went limp in the capsule as Dr. Gilmore scrambled to free the cyborg from the clasps and bonds that held her in place.

"006, 004, gather the cables and make sure no one trips on them- the last thing we need is to revive more than one comatose cyborgs."

While the two did as they were told, the rest of them rushed to catch the falling woman. Setting her on a bed, they were finally have to get a good look at this new 00-number cyborg.

"Weeell, there!" Britain said in astonishment, whistling. "She's certainly a looker, that's for sure!"

"And a uniform to match," 002 said, placing his hands on his hips as he cocked his head to the side. "Whoever designed this battle uniform didn't want her to battle."

The others were inclined to agree- it was the same red and yellow uniform, muffler and everything, but it looked more like a dress below the belt than anything else. Going out to fight in something like that would be a terrible challenge to anyone.

"There, that should be all of them, so who--" 004 began, when he suddenly stopped and gasped loudly, dropping the cables he was holding onto Chang's head.

"Hey! What's the big idea, 004! I didn't need any more concussions today!" Chang said angrily, rubbing his head.

"004?" Dr. Gilmore said in surprise as he heard the other cyborgs rush to catch the side of the cyborg that Albert had dropped. What he was met was Albert's eyes flung open wide as dish plates, his jaw hanging with shock the likes of which he hadn't seen on someone in what seemed like years. "004, what's happened?"

"Impossible..." he finally said, taking a step back to the utter befuddlement of his teammates. "Impossible, I'm _dreaming_..!"

"004!" Joe said in shock at the immediate change in attitude from 004. "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

"It... this has to be a joke, a complete joke! It can't be her, it...it just **can't** be!"

"004! What's happened!" Dr. Gilmore grabbed Albert by the shoulders, staring him straight in the eyes. "Who is she? Do you know her?"

It was the same face that he could never forget, the same golden brown hair in a bubble-cut, the same fair, wonderful skin... only it was clad in a cyborg's uniform- a uniform almost exactly like his.

"004! Answer me! Who is she!"

He had to swallow the lump that had suddenly developed in his throat, his eyes still fixated on the body on the bed. He didn't realize how long it actually took him to finally say the words that he had been killing himself to say ever since he laid eyes on her.

"...Hilda..."

_to be continued_

* * *

**Translations:**  
_ 'Novità Speciali'_: 'Special Novelties'; Italian 

**Note:** _"Speech like this">_from Ivan indicates he's speaking telepathically. And I know his last name is 'Asimov' in the dub, but as far as I'm concerned, it's still Wiskey. Besides, how do we know it's not 'Wiskey' in the unedited version?


	3. Chapter 2: Beloved

**_This only is denied to God: the power to undo the past._**  
_Agathon (448 BC - 400 BC), from Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics_  


_**The Ballad of 0014**_ _  
by DigistarDBZ _

_Chapter 2: Beloved_  
  


* * *

"Hilda?" Joe inquired as he repeated the name that Albert whispered. He had heard Albert and even Dr. Gilmore speak of someone by that name before, but he never realized that she would have such a profound impact on him- of all of the women, all of the missions that they had been on- he didn't even think that this 'Hilda' would mean that much.. "Who is she?"  
  
Albert's response didn't wish to leave his throat. The entire team looked dumbstruck at his response- 004, the collected one, never one to reveal his feelings in such a manner, was in a state of disbelief and shock the likes of which they hadn't seen before! 

"Then... you know who she is!" Dr. Gilmore said to break the uneasy silence. He definitely knew who this 'Hilda' was- after all, he had to do thorough background checks for all nine of the cyborgs. Still, he thought that she, who had been dead for over 40 years, was _the_ necromancy prototype that he had been told about. "Tell me, did you ever see her when--" 

Albert shook his head 'no'. "..She's supposed to be dead..." He then turned and grasped the professor's shoulders. "How?! What did they do to her?! How did they get their hands on her!?" 

"Calm down, 004!!" Dr. Gilmore said to keep Albert from becoming hysterical. "I didn't even know they made one behind the backs of Black Ghost back then! The only way I found out that the rejected cyborgs were still around was through a colleague of mine, Doctor Asimov Cosmo!" 

"Asimov Cosmo?" Joe repeated in question. "Who's he?" 

"An old workmate of mine from the 1980's that specializes in astrophysics and deep space research. He had taken an great interest in the 00-number project, but it appears he didn't get directly involved because of what terrible things Black Ghost was about!" 

"So if he's an astrophysicist, why did he go around and find out about more 00-number cyborgs?" Pyunma asked. 

"He had a friend involved in the secret project as well- he was killed before any more information could be passed to him, but all he got was the location and security codes to the 00-number warehouse in Italy!" 

"So he was the one who told you about her pod being stolen." Albert meant it to be a question but came out as a statement instead. 

"Yes, he, too fears that Black Ghost is coming back to life- neither of us know how, but... now that we have her in our possession, perhaps we'll be able to stop whatever this madness is before it even begins!" 

Out of the corner of Britain's eye, he noticed the comatose figure on the medical bed begin to stir. 

"Um, I appreciate the information about who got us to this point," he started before pointing to the table. "But I think 004's lost girl is coming around!" 

Albert immediately let go of Dr. Gilmore's shoulders and before anyone even realized it, he was on his knees against the table. He was waiting on heated breath to see what had happened to her... if she could still talk, if she could still see him, if she would even be able to recognize what he had become... 

"....Hilda....?" He said shakily, waiting anxiously for the answer from the cyborg on the table. "Is.. is it you? Hilda?" 

A soft noise came from her throat, as if she was reacting to the questions that were being asked to her. 

"Hilda? Hilda, it's me!! It's Albert... please, wake up!!" 

Her eyes sluggishly started to open, the blinding light of the lamp overhead eclipsed by what felt like a familiar face above hers. She had to make sure... that this wasn't a dream. 

"_Al..bert....._?" 

He wanted to fall to the floor and cry until he shriveled at that moment.  
  
But to see her look at him again- those same beautiful, shining green eyes- Albert's mind went completely numb. He wasn't sure what he was to do.  
  
And... to hear her say his name again... after all this time! After all of the time that he had been apart from her, always believing that only death could bring them together once more...  
  
The other cyborgs were as shocked out of their minds as well- perhaps nowhere near Albert's level, but the fact that their teammate, the ever-stoic and quiet Cyborg 004... that the appearance of _one_ woman could come so close to bringing him to his knees to the point of weeping...  
  
That was cause for even Geronimo Junior's eyes to widen.  
  
"Albert..." she said again, trying to sit up, but still very weak from her long sleep. "...Why are you crying...?"  
  
His hand shook violently as he reached to touch her clammy cheek. "H....Hilda......this....this isn't a...a dream.... is it?"  
  
She was so focused on seeing Albert again for the first time since she couldn't remember, she didn't even feel the lukewarm tears start to stream from her eyes. '_He's alive....._'  
  
"It's really you... I thought you... I thought that you..." she started before any more words that she wanted to say died on her tongue.  
  
"..Am I dreaming or is he _crying_?" Britain said with his jaw hung open. "I never dreamed I'd see the day!!"  
  
"If you're dreaming, then we're all having the same kooky dream!" Chang replied, his stout jaw hung open not quite as wide, but was visibly shocked. "This is unbelievable!"  
  
Francoise gave a loud 'hush' to everyone. "Let them be! This is incredibly important to him!"  
  
Feeling herself scooped up into his arms, all Hilda felt she could do was return the embrace by wrapping her arms around his neck, riding the sharp, heavy gasps that she could've sworn were attempts to hold back choking sobs. "Are you... you all right...?"  
  
He never thought he could be brought to the point where he couldn't hold back tears anymore. Years of emotion, of pain, of joy, of sorrow... all of it was undammed just by holding her in his arms again, just like he did in Berlin after the truck crashed...  
  
...Only this time, she was alive. _Alive_.  
  
This time, she was able to return his embrace. This time, it was 'hello'.. not 'goodbye'. This time...  
  
"...Albert...?"  
  
"I..." He gasped in reply, trying to regain his voice, which he felt like he lost as soon as he started to hold her. "...I've... I've never... never been better..."  
  
"I've missed you so much..." she replied, "I felt like I could never be happy again until I found you... I hear you were alive, but.. what they did, what happened, and..."  
  
"They're never going to hurt you again." Albert choked in reply. "They'll **never** hurt you again. They're gone, and they'll be gone forever... I swear it to you..."  
  
Hilda wasn't sure what else to say, but still, it felt right to simply say, "Thank you..."  
  
If there was ever a moment that Albert wanted to last forever, ever a moment that he wanted to never end no matter what..  
  
It was now. Most definitely.

* * *

"So, we find another 00-number cyborg, it's friendly, **and** it's 004's _wife_?!" Jet said in disbelief as he paced about the office room. "What kind of nutcase sequence of events is this turning into, anyways!?"

"Jealous that it wasn't any of your old girlfriends, 002?" Britain joked, nudging Jet with his elbow.

"Sh... shut up!!" Jet yelled, his face flushing with red. "I'm _not_ jealous!"

"But I still don't understand..." Joe said, looking at the floor. "They sent 0010, 0011, 0012 _and_ 0013 after us... so why not her? Why didn't they send any more of those 00-number cyborgs after us after that?"

Dr. Gilmore sighed sadly. "I wish I knew, otherwise I would have told you after 0013 was destroyed." He turned his chair to face the seaside landscape out of the window. "My best guess is that there must've been something about Hilda that was different, or they would've sent her right after that."

"Different?"

"We won't know for sure until she's completely awake and moving freely.. she's been asleep for who knows how long, she might even forget some of the events that she had been through during her time with Black Ghost."

"But if that's the case, how would we be able to bring those memories back?" 

"I'm not sure," Dr. Gilmore said, getting up again to face the window more directly. "She'd have to find it out on her own, I'm afraid." 

The door opened and Francoise walked inside the office. "Dr. Gilmore?" 

"Ah, 003! How's our new cyborg friend doing?" Dr. Gilmore said cheerfully to her, as if he had completely forgotten the gloomy words that he had told 009 only mere moments before. "Is she adjusting well to her new surroundings?" 

"I doubt that if she didn't have 004 around, she'd be doing very well. She still looks so tired, as if she had been through some terrible ordeal before waking up again..." 

"I don't doubt that she did, Black Ghost doesn't take kindly to anyone who even thinks about getting away from them. Take me to her, I need to see if I can talk to her." 

"Of course. Joe, why don't you come along?" 

Joe stood up from his chair as well. "I suppose, maybe we should introduce ourselves to her." 

"Duh." Jet uttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he and Britain walked past him to the door. 

* * *

The cardiograph beeped in a slow, but steady rhythm as it monitored its subject through the numerous pads that were attached to her. Things had become so overwhelming to her, all she could do was just stay laying down in the soft hospital-style bed. Her long sigh alerted Albert's attention from the cardiograph monitor and its jagged, beeping green lines.  
  
"Is something wrong?" He asked her, turning his head to hers.  
  
"Nothing," Hilda replied, putting a hand to her head. "I just have this headache..."  
  
"If you want, I can get you something," He replied as he placed his left hand over the hand on her head. "I'm sure Dr. Gilmore has something around here."  
  
"No, it's all right-" Hilda suddenly stopped when she noticed a strange glint that the light cast on Albert's right hand. Something about it seemed.. almost familiar. But she knew that had to be impossible- he never had anything like the shine on his hand before. "Albert? What's that on your other hand?"  
  
Albert tensed. He knew exactly what she was talking about, and he figured she knew it. "I- it's nothing, really."  
  
"What's wrong?" She knew he had to be a cyborg just like her- how else would he still be alive and wearing almost the same uniform as hers? "What did Black Ghost do to you?"  
  
Albert looked ashamed at the question. He was almost afraid to answer as he swallowed hard. How would she be able to take the news that he had to tell her?  
  
"Albert? Please, you can tell me!"  
  
"..They made me a weapon." He replied as he put his gunmetal gray right hand on the railing for her to see. " A living arsenal of weapons."  
  
Hilda tilted back in shock as she took his hand in hers. It seemed even more familiar than before, like she had seen it somewhere in the past. "They made you a weapon? Then.. what did they do to your hand? It looks almost like--"  
  
"A machine gun." Albert confessed after an uneasy silence, turning his gaze away from her. "Every day, I wish it wasn't. I wish it was a normal right hand, just like yours."  
  
"Just like mine?" Hilda felt taken aback. '_My hands can't be any more bizarre than his own.. I'm still trying to figure out why.._'

Their conversation was interrupted when the medical office doors were opened and the rest of the team, leading behind Dr. Gilmore, poured in to meet them.  
  
"Welcome, Mrs. Heinrich," Dr. Gilmore started with a warm smile as he stood at the foot of the bed. "I assume you've been catching up on what's happened since Black Ghost was destroyed."  
  
"So it's true, isn't it?" She asked Albert. "Black Ghost is really gone?"  
  
"Yes, thankfully," he said in response. "They're gone.. at least, we hope they are."  
  
"What do you mean?" Her heart clenched with anxiety with the thought that the organization that had taken her away, took her away from Albert and brought her back to a place that was worse than death could be, could still be out there, looking for her. "Please, sir--"  
  
"Doctor Isaac Gilmore," he said as he held out his hand for a shake. "I understand you found out about us."  
  
"Yes," she replied. "I'm not sure why, but somehow I just felt like I remembered he was alive... and you call him '004'?"  
  
"That's his 00-number. We usually call each other by our numbers, but not all the time, I suppose.."  
  
"So you're all cyborgs just like I am?"  
  
"We are." Joe replied for the professor. "I'm Joe Shimamura, Cyborg Soldier 009. Guys, perhaps you should introduce yourselves."  
  
"Of course," Francoise said. "My name is Francoise Arnoul, 003. It's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
"Geronimo Junior, 005."  
  
"Jet Link, 002."  
  
"Pyunma, 008."  
  
"Great Britain, 007 at your service, m'lady." He said with a bow.  
  
"Chang Changku, 006. I assume you like Chinese cuisine?"  
  
Hilda giggled in amusement. "I've never had Chinese food before."  
  
"Well, then, I guess we'll be having a big dinner tonight for 004's lovely wife!"  
  
"We have big dinners every night when we're all together!" Francoise said as everyone laughed.  
  
But while the laugher was good for a moment, Hilda then slowed her laughter to a depressed sigh, looking away from the others.  
  
"Hilda? What's wrong?" Albert asked, placing his left hand on her shoulder. The others looked in befuddlement at her sudden swing in mood.  
  
"I just don't know how much has changed in 40 years.." she replied. "I don't feel like I should be happy at all, I realize all of our friends and family are gone.. that I don't belong here!"  
  
Francoise took her lament to heart- for a long time, she too felt like a stranger in a strange time. She missed her brother Jean-Paul, her friends, family- she knew what it felt like.  
  
"Don't worry," she comforted, kneeling to Hilda's bed side. "I know what you're going through.. we'll try to make this as easy as we can. You have Albert with you, don't you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then as long as you stand by his side, the pain won't be as bad as having no one you know and love with you to comfort you." She suppressed the urge to flash back to her blissful years with her brother and dreaming of being a dancer at her own words of encouragement. She dearly wished Jean was there to comfort her in her times of need like Hilda now had Albert once again. "You don't realize how precious a gift you have in him."  
  
"I do," she said. "I can't help but wish that all of this was just a dream, that I'd wake up and he'd be at my side, the both of us human and Black Ghost never existing.."  
  
"We all do." Joe added. "But we fight against them to make sure that everyone on earth can realize that dream."  
  
"I'm sorry if I intrude upon anything you may be thinking," Dr. Gilmore started as he motioned Francoise to stand aside for a moment. "But since you're here, I might as well tell you about what's been going on around you before you woke up."  
  
"All right." Hilda replied, wondering just how many more revelations she'd be able to take without overloading her mind.  
  
"You see, there are people that were trying to find you and use you for something. We're not exactly sure what, but we had to wake you up to find out what it is that they want from you."  
  
"But I'm not a warrior!" She said, scootching back as if she was being threatened. "I can't fight.. why would they want me?"  
  
"Well, do you at least know what you can do?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your abilities. Do you know what kind of abilities that Black Ghost gave you?"  
  
Dr. Gilmore's question left her mind in a haze. She was trying to remember... only seeing things like herself on a strange table, running down a hallway, strange machines coming at her left and right...

'_Why? Why can't I remember any of that??'_

"No... I don't know.. I can't remember anything when Black Ghost had me..." She suddenly looked panicked. "Please don't put me back in that pod, please! You don't know what it's like to be held solid in time, all of that feeling of cold... terrible, terrible cold..."

"Shh, shh.. it's all right!" Dr. Gilmore said, waving his hands around to signal that he wouldn't even **dream** of doing such a terrible thing to her. "You're never going back in that pod again, I swear to you! We freed you, and unlike Black Ghost, we want _everyone_ to be free and able to live their lives without that kind of deathly cold! You're _not_ going back in that pod, I promise!"

Hilda's breathing calmed as she realized he was telling the truth. She could tell that he was much different than the other doctors that she could remember, if only barely. '_He reminds me of someone... but who?'_

"Doctor, I hate to interrupt, but you told us about a doctor in that secret project," Pyunma started to ask. "Do you know the name of the one who Dr. Cosmo kept in contact with?"  
  
"Dr. Samson Garameade, why?" Dr. Gilmore replied.  
  
"Dr.. Garameade?" Hilda suddenly perked. "Dr. Garameade, right?"  
  
"That's why," Pyunma said, noting Hilda's reaction. "The name must be familiar to her."  
  
"Yes, Dr. Samson Garameade. Is the name familiar?" Dr. Gilmore said to her.  
  
"It is," Hilda replied, putting her hands on her head as if to force any memories into the forefront of her mind. "I know I've heard it before, but I just don't know where!"  
  
"Don't worry, we won't force anything upon you, I promise." Dr. Gilmore reassured, taking Hilda's hand in his. "These things take time, and we can wait for as long as we need to." He then turned to the other cyborgs, telling them, "Listen, I need you all to keep an eye on the area in case those people who attacked us on that cargo ship decide to come looking for her. Chances are, they know the tracking code for the pod, and as long as it ended up here and stopped traveling, they'll find her and no doubt try to capture her again."  
  
"Are they Black Ghost people...?" Hilda asked anxiously, praying that it wasn't the case.  
  
"I don't know at this point," Dr. Gilmore replied. "For all I know they could be terrorists who need something dangerous on their side. All that I do know is that they wouldn't defend their capture and just let us get away with it."  
  
A sudden ringing sound in 003's ears alerted her to the front office, all the way back in the laboratory. "Doctor, your phone is ringing in the office!"  
  
Dr. Gilmore suddenly smiled. "Ah, it's Asimov! I got a message from him and he told me that he would call me later to check on things."  
  
"Dr. Cosmo?" Joe inquired. Dr. Gilmore nodded, motioning for the others to leave.  
  
"Hold on, 004," Dr. Gilmore said as Albert was about to leave at the doctor's request with the others. "I believe she needs someone to stay with her here, I doubt she would want to be alone right now."  
  
"If you need him, he can go with you, I'll be fine." Hilda replied, but Dr. Gilmore shook his head.  
  
"You're still weak from that freeze, and with those people no doubt looking for you, I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone. 004 is your husband, isn't he?"  
  
Hilda nodded. "You'd better get the phone."  
  
"Oh, that's right!" Dr. Gilmore said as he ran out to catch up with the others, leaving Albert and Hilda alone again.  
  
"So... about what you said about being a weapon.." Hilda continued, bringing Albert's attention back to her.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What's it like?"  
  
Albert wasn't sure how to answer the question. To have all of that artillery at his disposal was an incredible feeling of power and authority, but at the cost of his humanity, it didn't even seem worth it. His right hand still glared at him, even as he leaned over the steel railing and he could only see his hands out of the bottom of his eyes.  
  
"I try to answer that to myself all the time." He finally answered after heavily pondering how to put the words into a response.  
  
"You mean you don't know?"  
  
"I do," he replied. "...I just don't know how to put it into words very effectively."  
  
"Albert?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can you crawl in with me?" She motioned that she had made a free space in her bed for him to crawl into. Albert was a little surprised at the gesture, but since he probably wasn't going to be going anywhere away from her (not that he wished for it, God forbid), it was an tender offer he couldn't refuse.  
  
"Of course." Albert said with a smile, already getting to pulling the bulky black boots off of his feet before doing just that. She smiled warmly, welcoming him onto the mattress.  
  
"It's not very soft, is it?" Hilda asked him, tilting her head to the side.  
  
"I don't mind." He replied softly, holding his arms out to welcome her. "I don't mind one bit."  
  
She continued to smile as she returned the embrace, and the two of them laid back down as the feeling of absolute comfort settled in. "I'm glad." Going back to sleep was much easier than in a stasis pod- for one thing, it was very warm and she had Albert next to her.  
  
And that made all the difference.

* * *

  
  
"Perhaps you all might not completely understand the importance of this cyborg," The woman told a small group of four men standing before her in her office. They looked straight at her as she paced in front of them, carefully selecting each of the words she was about to say. "Those 00-number cyborgs were a nuisance that we initially underestimated. However, the situation is becoming critical and our timetables are running out. We **need** that cyborg back immediately, and I don't care who you have to kill or what you have to destroy to get her back. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, madam!" The men said in unison, standing to full attention. 

"Good. You," She said as she pointed to a man in a black cloak and turban, carrying a backpack. "You're going first, your spy and seizure equipment should do the job. We want this to be as quiet as possible, and if you screw this up, don't bother coming back here _alive_." 

The black-cloaked man swallowed quietly before replying, "Yes, madam! You can trust me with your life!" 

"Don't go that far. Now all of you, get out of my sight and don't come back until further notice." 

After the four men left, she returned to her desk and pressed a button, bringing a small television screen up. The screen flashed to life as she pressed the communication start button. 

"_Well?_" A voice said from the speaker. "_Do you have the 00-Number in your possession yet?_" 

"Unfortunately not," The woman said, placing her hands on the table pensively. "Those prototype cyborgs you warned us about came and took us by surprise. I sent my best assassins to recapture her, and she should be in our possession again very soon." 

"_That had better be the case, as we are growing impatient,_" another voice said from the speakers. "_This plan will not succeed unless we have her. Make sure these assassins of yours don't fail._" 

"Of course they won't, they are my best assassins, and _outdated technology_ such as those 00-number cyborgs will be no match for their prowess." 

"_Don't underestimate them like the ones before you,_" A third voice warned her. "_There is something about these prototypes that make them more than what you call 'outdated technology'._" 

"I shall not fail, you can rest assured. I am much smarter than all of them, and I will not allow myself to join their pathetic ranks." 

The connection was then closed, and the TV screen retracted back to the desk. 

"I most certainly will _not_ be like the last ones. That cyborg _will_ be mine." 

* * *

"So technology has finally caught up with us," the doctor said as he and his colleagues looked over the cryonic suspension tube. They had been anxiously awaiting its arrival from Italy, and now they were finally going to see just what the doctors almost 40 years ago had tried to accomplish.  
  
"Apparently, this subject dates back to... 1964, from what used to be East Germany. Status of the body inside?"  
  
"DOA, Doctor Syrrin," another doctor said as he looked over his clipboard. "Even with all of the implants, they were still too primitive to snap a body out of rigor mortis." He looked the pod over, wondering just what sort of things the doctors did to try and revive her. "But are you sure that, even with our technology, we'll be able to finish what those doctors started almost 40 years ago?"  
  
"Samson, my good man," Dr. Syrrin said confidently. "It's the dawn of the new millenium! It's practically a technological rennisance! Especially since the 00-number project is starting again and we need new testing subjects." He placed his hand on the pod's smooth surface, looking inside with intrest. "If we bring a human being back to life, we'll be famous beyond our wildest dreams! Down in the history books, even!"  
  
"As far as the rest of the world is concerned, robots are still extraordinarly primitive," Dr. Garameade replied, shaking his head. "Black Ghost is too secretive for the true nature of today's technology to get out to the rest of the world. Our accomplishments would just go unnoticed to the rest of the world!"  
  
It was true, the first four cyborgs were truly ahead of their time then. Crude compared to the technology of the early 21st century, but to create cyborgs at a time when computers were 7 feet tall and weighed several tons, it was an astounding feat if ever there was one.  
  
"How many cyborg implants will have to be given to the cadaver in order to reanimate it?"  
  
Dr. Syrrin turned to the doctor that asked the question to reply, "The only way we'll know is if we bring the body out of suspension and see what kind of injuries were the cause of death." He then directed two of the doctors in the room to begin the process of thawing out the body. All injuries had to be assessed before any kinds of designs for reconstruction could take place- if any were possible, that is. "We must work quickly, the body is still dead until this experiment is a success."  
  
"And if it's not?" Dr. Garameade asked, his eyebrow arched in question.  
  
"..Then we do what we always do to failed experiments." Dr. Syrrin replied bluntly.  
  
That was the part that Dr. Garameade always despised.

Hilda awoke with a start. '_...Where did that come from...?_'

She looked around the room. The cardiograph was still beeping, the room was still rather dimly-lit, and a quick glance to the side indicated that Albert was still sleeping peacefully beside her. She tried to sit up, but then remembered that he was holding her. She laid back down, realizing that it would just be cruel to break out of his arms like that.

'_That man, that was Dr. Garameade,'_ she thought, rubbing her temples to collect her thoughts. '_He does seem so familiar, but how could I remember seeing myself in that tube?_' It was so confusing how she could have memories like that, as if she was watching them happen before she came right back down to earth.

'_Like an angel that had its wings taken away.._'

"Hey," a voice said to her softly. She felt her heart jump in surprise before realizing that the voice belonged to Albert. "You all right now?"

'_How silly of me,'_ she thought. "I guess," she then replied sleepily, stretching and yawning. "I've been so tired, and.. I had a strange dream."

"A dream? Of what?"

"I'm not sure, but it had to do with that Doctor Garameade that the professor was talking about. I saw him so clearly, as if I was standing right there."

"Maybe you were," Albert replied, stroking his hand on her cheek. "Who knows? Things work in mysterious ways."

Hilda sat up, and Albert did the same to anticipate her next move. "Should I get up? Do you think Dr. Gilmore would mind if--"

"Don't worry about it, I don't think he'd mind. I'd vouch for you if it was otherwise." He replied, climbing out of the bed and putting his boots back on before taking her hand. "I'll help you, it looks like you haven't walked in ages."

"Thank you," she replied. She still felt very weak, even after talking with Albert's new friends and resting peacefully. "I think we should go get something to eat, I'm so hungry.."

"Well, if 006 was 003, he'd be over here with a big plate of food for you right now." He replied, smirking.

"Why, what does 003 do?"

"She has super-hearing, she can hear anything up to several miles away."

"Oh! And 006 said.. right!" She then giggled, realizing the joke that he had made. It felt good, and Albert's presence made it feel all right to actually laugh without feeling guilty, unlike before.

"Now up we go," Albert said as he took Hilda's waist and helped lift her over the steel railing. When her feet touched the ground, she faltered, and shakily used Albert as a support to keep herself up. It _was_ a while since she last walked- she had to get her bearings back before she could walk on her own again.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said as he helped her stay up. She reached into her uniform to pull the cardiograph sensors off of her, and declined Albert's help when he offered to help her. She wasn't sure why, but she felt uncomfortable with the prospect. "I can do it myself."

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, silly." She smiled as she pulled the last one off of her wrist. "Come on, show me where the kitchen is."

"Of course," he said in a similar fashion to the last time he said it. "Granted, we have to make a quick trip through the ship, but I think we'll be able to find our way out of here and to the lab." Albert opened the door before her, and neither noticed the small roach that was watching them from the walls.

* * *

"Madam, I've found her, she's with this silver-haired 00-number cyborg in a small medical room. They're just leaving their ship to go to a kitchen topside, from what I hear."

The black robed man looked into the screen of a small device filled with buttons, small levers and a tiny plasma screen with the woman's face on it. She looked pleased, and that made him relieved.

"_Good, Terdios. Get out of that vent, head outside and get your spy ready. When the time is right, get her._"

"At once, madam." Terdios said as the connection closed, and then began to shuffle through the vent towards the outside. Once he was out, he pressed several buttons on the device and the screen showed Albert and Hilda walking down the hallway, the camera never faltering too far towards or too far behind them.

"If madam wants a cyborg, then a cyborg she gets..." Terdios smirked, striking another series of buttons...

* * *

"And here we are," Albert finally said as he opened the door to a lounge- it looked a lot like a regular office lounge, with cabinets, two microwaves, a large countertop stove and oven and two long tables with at least twelve chairs. "I'm sure there's plenty of things to eat here. Is there anything you would like?"

Hilda was in awe. By this time, she was able to walk a little bit on her own, and managed to get as far as one of the cabinets. She drew a surprised gasp as she saw the food inside- it wasn't much by anyone else's standards- chips, drink mixes, microwaveable popcorn and crackers, but to someone who had spent most of her life in East Germany, it was more than enough.

"Oh, Albert! This is wonderful! I don't know what to start with!"

"Are you really sure? I mean, there's more in the other cabinets if you--"

"No, this is fine! I can't believe this, there's so much good food!" She interrupted, taking a box of salted wheat biscuits and pretzels out before walking towards the fridge. "Oh, and so much to drink, too!"

Albert gave up trying to explain things to her and watched as she grabbed fruits, juices and other items out. '_She's been frozen for a long time, I'd expect she'd be a little hungry,_' he thought, slightly smiling while shaking his head. '_I'd just let her eat and get her strength back.'_

"Albert, try some, it's delicious!" Hilda said through a mouthful of leftover turkey sandwich she had been hastily planting in her mouth.

Albert shook his head, "No, you go ahead and eat, you need it." He turned to the other cabinets before saying, "I'll cook you something if you want, I don't know when you last had a home-cooked meal."

"You can cook?" She replied after washing her second sandwich down with grape juice. "Where did you learn?"

"Remember 006?"

"Ohh..." she replied in realization. "That's right." She then bit into an apple, quickly finishing that off before continuing to speak. "What did you have in mind to cook?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps I could dig into the freezer and pull out something microwaveable."

"Microwaveable? What's that?"

Albert felt a little stupid for mentioning that. Even if they were from the same time so long ago, he knew more about this day and age than she did. "Umm.. perhaps I should show you how it works."

"Take your time, I can wait." Hilda replied, waving her hand before sitting down at one of the tables to eat the bag of pretzels she grabbed.

* * *

"Come on... just stay like that for a little longer...." Terdios nervously bent the small joysticks on the remote. His spy was so close. "It's just one 00-number, he can't possibly be any of the powerful ones..."

* * *

"Let's see, we have herb chicken and pasta, or maybe potatoes.." Hilda listened as Albert mused over what frozen foods he could 'microwave' for her. Whatever it was, she assumed that it had to make food. And at the moment, all she could do was think about food. She had eaten quite a bit, but she was still incredibly hungry! "Have you become familiar with any of these foods when you last woke up?"

Hilda thought about the question, she wasn't exactly sure, her memories were still foggy at best, even though her dream was as clear as if she was standing right there. "I don't know. Some of them sound familiar, but go ahead and make as much as you can."

There was a soft clattering sound that caught her by surprise. "Albert, what was that?"

He looked over at her as he put a bowl of steak and marinara sauce in the microwave. "What was what?"

Hilda sighed as she rubbed her temples again. "It's nothing, might be machinery here."

She returned to her bag of pretzels, only to find the bag already empty. She 'hmm'ed and opened a blueberry granola bar as if nothing happened.

* * *

"That was close.." Terdios said in relief. "Damn robot, you're too loud. Now, to get you ready..."

* * *

"Three minutes, you think you can wait that long?"

Hilda looked at him with a look of shock. "Only three minutes? For steak?"

"Yes, I guess you could say microwaves are like ovens supercharged." Albert explained, taking a seat next to her. "Is there anything else?"

"There's just so much about this day and age that I just don't quite understand yet," she replied, trying to curb her want to eat more to actually talk to him without stuffing her face in the process. "You'll be able to show me all the good things that have happened, right?"

"Like the fact that Germany is just one country again? That the oppression of the Iron Curtain is finally gone?" He almost expected Hilda to be in gaping surprise, but in his own surprise, she simply nodded.

"I know that, I think I remember someone telling me that after I asked him where I was." Hilda wasn't sure how she remembered that, but she had to remind herself what the professor told her earlier, about her memories slowly coming back if and when something familiar was mentioned to her. "But I don't know if I can face that world again, I'm a stranger there from another time."

"We both are," Albert reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "But somehow, both you and the world around you adapt. I should know, I live in Germany and I've made new friends, created a new life. But it was never the same without you." He paused to collect his thoughts before smiling at her. "I guess.. I just never expected you'd come right back into my life like this."

Hilda returned his smile with her own, then returning to her food only to yelp loudly before swatting a strange grey cockroach off the table. "Oh, disgusting!"

"How did that get in here?" Albert asked in surprise as he slowly got up out of his chair to get a closer look. "Dr. Gilmore usually keeps this place spotless."

"When was the first time you came here?" Hilda asked in an attempt to change the subject, the thought about roaches and the like always made her nervous. "Was it when you first became a cyborg?"

"Actually no," he replied as he picked the roach up with his right hand, looking at its peculiar gray- sliver, if you will- color. "It was a little after we defeated Black Ghost once and for all. After that, he decided to establish a lab for his own personal studies in advanced robotics and computers, the last time we all saw each other in the same place was a little less than two years ago. That's when he opened its doors to the world for the first time."

"So you haven't been here since then?"

"No. Joe has, though. He does a bit of work here when he's not racing." He tried his best to continue the conversation while trying to figure out what was so strange about the roach that Hilda swatted. "..I'll just toss this outside, maybe it got lost."

Albert opened the lounge door and prepared to open a window to toss it out. Hilda was surprised at his compassion- usually he'd just squash them. '_I can't remember the last time he actually didn't squash an insect,_' she thought. '_It's Albert, but something's different about him. Something more than being just a cyborg..._'

A flash of red out of the corner of Albert's eyes caught his attention. The small eyes of the gray roach flashed a strange red light before leaping out of his fingers and back into the lounge.

"What in the--?!"

He ran to catch it, but as he did, the form of the tiny roach began to lurch and make the hideous creaking and squealing noises that Hilda heard moments before. It spread its wings and, part by part, began to unfold itself into a larger, circular shaped droid with the same six legs, which had now grown and unfolded to long, sharp points.

"Albert!!! What is that thing?!" Hilda lept out of her seat. Albert motioned for Hilda to get out of the way as he cocked his gun arm.

"Move!! This thing might be after you!" He told her firmly before unleashing a barrage of sub-automatic bullets at the robot. It only flinched the first few moments it was shot, but then regained its bearings before lunging towards the terrified Hilda.

"Albert!! HELP!!" She screamed as she tried to run, but was stopped dead in her tracks when the back of the robot opened up to reveal many long, steel-like cables. They ensared her, and before she could call out for Albert again, a clamp firmly planted itself on her mouth, muffling everything she was saying.

"_HILDA!!!_" He began to charge, but was stopped by something- a vision. '_Oh, no!! No, no, no!!!_' He clutched his head, finding the scene of a struggling Hilda caught by at least half a dozen cables too familiar for his liking. '_It's not true, it can't be just like my nightmare!!!_'

He had to come to his senses. "I _ won't_ let it be like that!!!"

The robot started to run, rushing past Albert and it slammed through the narrow doorframe.

At least, not before Albert took a chance and grabbed onto whatever he could of the robot before it did so.

Like a roller coaster, he cringed as he was dragged at full speed across the carpet, struggling to stay on as he tried to grab ahold of more of the robot. He had to get closer to Hilda, just so he could be able to try to cut the cables binding her.

It took several tries of trying to grasp at least one of the cables, the only thing keeping his weaking grip strong was the sight of Hilda bound and trying as much as she could to get out. "Hilda, don't panic, I'll get you out of this, just watch me!!"

With that, he triggered a subconcious switch that caused a dull, but piercingly white light to buzz loudly from the edge of his left palm. "This should get out out!" With a mighty grunt, he slammed the whirring laser knife down on the cable holding one of her arms.... and it did nothing.

'_What the hell?!_' He thought as he tried again- his knife was designed to cut through _anything_, how could this be too tough for him to cut through?!

Hilda's screams and pleas for Albert to get her out were muffled by the clamp over her mouth. Albert struggled, smashing the laser knife on his left hand against the machine repeatedly. And while the knife could cut through pretty much anything, this material was so tough the glowing blade couldn't cut through it at all.  
  
"Hang on Hilda, I'm trying!!" He shouted as he continued to try in vain to slash open the robot's grip.  
  
Dr. Gilmore's conversation with the cyborgs was suddenly cut off when they saw the robot skittle down the hallway with Hilda in its cables and Albert hanging on for dear life to hack through them.  
  
"What the devil--?!?!" The professor said in shock as Joe ran forward.  
  
"005, come on! We have to catch it!" He said to Geronimo as the two took off down the hallway. "Hang on, 004! Help is on the way!!"  
  
Sparks trailed from Albert's knife, his boots skidding against the carpet to try and break the robot's speed. "009, hurry!! I can't hold on much longer!!"  
  
There was only one thing that Joe could do to get his teammates out of this situation.  
  
"**Acceleration Mode!!!**"  
  
Pressing his jaw down on the switch inside his back tooth, the entire chase slowed to an almost complete halt around him. The once-swift robot was now barely topping a mile an hour as Joe ran in front of it. Reaching his arms out, he grabbed the robot by its underside and lifted it up off the carpet, with both occupants still hanging on.  
  
Time then resumed to normal as the robot suddenly began struggling against 009's iron grip. "004, let go! We've got it covered! 005, I need your help over here!"  
  
Geronimo met up to him and with a confirmation from Joe, proceeded to break all six legs off. While the robot was technically immobile, he didn't want to take the chance that it would have a backup system in case this sort of situation happened.  
  
"005, get her out of that thing! I can't risk this thing having backup!"  
  
"Not a problem," Geronimo replied as he grabbed one of the cables on the robot's back and with a loud straining grunt, he ripped the cable apart. Then he did the same with the rest of the cables that were pinning Hilda to its back.  
  
"Are you all right?" He asked Hilda as she fell into his arms.  
  
"I.. I think so..." She replied, breathing heavily in her shock of the past few moments. "Albert, where are you??"  
  
Geronimo turned around to hand Hilda over to Albert, who gladly accepted her from the ironman cyborg.  
  
"Mrs. Heinrich!!" Dr. Gilmore called out as he and the other cyborgs managed to catch up with them. "Are you all right?!"  
  
"She's still in shock, I think that the recapture attempt knocked some sense out of her." Joe replied, still hanging onto the robot. "What exactly is this thing, anyways?"  
  
He was about to get his answer as two rockets popped out of the robot's sides. Before he knew it, Joe was airborne with a shout of surprise.  
  
"009!!" Francoise cried out as he was flown down the hallway and straight out a window with a loud shatter.  
  
"Hang on, we'll catch him!" Jet replied as he and Geronimo ran down the hall and out through the window that Joe was flown through.

* * *

"What?! That's not that 00-number cyborg!" Terdios said in shock as he saw the figure that was riding on his spy robot. He ran up to see, but only got to see so much before he saw Joe rush up to tackle him.  
  
"All right, you!!" Joe demanded angrily, holding Terdios' robe by the collar. "What do you think you're doing trying to take 0014?!"  
  
"I'm doing my job, you stupid prototype!!" Terdios sneered. "And I won't tell you anything else!!"  
  
"Is that so?" Joe heard Jet's voice say. He looked up to see him and Geronimo standing above him, pointing their pistols at Terdios. "Well, as they say in America, 'We have ways of makin' you talk'."  
  
"Like I said, you're not getting anything from me," Terdios said as he reached over for his remote, grasping it by the antenna. "I still have one more trick up my sleeve, 00-number cyborgs!!"  
  
He pressed a red and blue button and grinned at Joe's confused reaction. Only he knew that the broken robot was aiming straight for Joe's back.  
  
"009!!! Get out of the way, **NOW!!**" Geronimo shouted as he used all of his strength to shove Joe out from above Terdios. If the force of Geronimo's push didn't throw him back far enough, the ensuing explosion from the robot's self-destruction mechanism did.  
  
When Joe finally regained his senses moments later, he realized that Jet and Geronimo were at the blast point, and rushed towards the fire to find them. "002!! 005!!"  
  
He stopped in his tracks when he saw Geronimo walk out of the flames- singe and flame marks all over his skin and uniform, but thanks to his near-indestructible construction, he was able to walk straight forward with very little problems.  
  
"005, where's 002?!" Joe asked, while still relieved that the taller cyborg was alive and mostly unharmed.  
  
"Don't worry, he ended up a lot like you did," He reassured Joe as the other cyborgs ran out of the lab to see what caused the explosion. "He should be over here once he finds a way past the flames."  
  
"Joe!!!" He heard Francoise's voice call. "Joe, what happened?? Are you all right?!"  
  
She threw herself into his arms, filled with delight and relief that he wasn't killed.  
  
"Don't worry, we're all right," He replied, returning the French girl's embrace. "...I don't think we can say the same about the man controlling that seizure robot."  
  
"He blew himself up, what do you think!" Jet said as he managed to walk past the flames with the other cyborgs. A wave of relief washed over Joe, knowing that everyone that he cared for was still all right. "Apparently he was serious about his threat to not go back to wherever he came from alive."  
  
"There will be more like him, that is for certain," Geronimo said, looking up at the sky. "As long as they want 0014, he won't be the last of them."  
  
Hilda's stomach cramped again. "Albert, I can't keep you all in danger like this! It's me they want, but.."  
  
"They won't take you back. We're all tougher than we look, believe me." Albert replied, cupping Hilda's chin in his hand. "As long as we work together to protect you, you'll be safe."  
  
"But I still don't know why they want me!"  
  
"We'll find out soon enough, Mrs. Heinrich- right now, all we can do is meet the threats as they come," Dr. Gilmore replied to her, bowing his head. "However, we won't be completely alone in this. The call I received from Dr. Cosmo was one of news that he was coming here to Japan to get a look at all of you."  
  
"You're serious?" Albert asked. Joe nodded in confirmation, as he and the other cyborgs were in the room after the call was over.  
  
"Apparently he might have some ideas as to what she's about and what this could mean for us." Joe added. "Perhaps he might be able to shed some light on why these new people would want her."  
  
"But until then," Dr. Gilmore continued. "We have to be extra careful. These people are very serious on getting their hands on her again. You all have to stay on your toes and keep your eyes on her at all costs."  
  
Francoise was holding her head, shaking it as Joe looked at her.

"Francoise, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I should've been able to see that, see the man that tried to kidnap Hilda," she said shamefully. "I don't understand, I could bearly even hear any gunfire! Am I going to..."

"I don't think you are," Albert told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't even cut the cables, something tells me that whoever is after her knows all about us."

"But how? The only ones who would know about us is Black Ghost.."

"Documents and records could've been stolen or auctioned off," Dr. Gilmore replied, placing his hands behind his back as he looked up at her. "I pray to God it's not Black Ghost, but... we have to be prepared for anything."

The cyborgs could only watch the fire burn, even with the efforts of Britain, now a firehose that dipped into the ocean below for water.

  
  
_to be continued_

_Quote taken from "The Quotation Page" at _


End file.
